Reasonable souvenir/gift shop budget for 6 and 8 year old?

[kcbutterfly]

What are your thoughts of a reasonable souvenir/ gift shop budget for a 6 and 8 year old? We will be in the parks 4 days and have 1 rest resort day. I know there is no such thing as a budget at Disney, but I would like your thoughts.

 

[lanejudy]

When DD was that age, we gave her $x each day -- she could spend it or save it to combine with the next day's allotment for something more expensive. Back then I think we did $5/day which wouldn't get you far today. Maybe $10 or $20?

 

[HeiHei2018]

It depends on family expectations. Do you want them to get something every day or one item? Stuffies were $30–40 the last time I bought one (a few years ago).

 

[Sherlee]

What a great question! My soon to be 30 year old has always had a $50 Disney Gift card (or Disney Dollars back in the day). I have not accounted for inflation, as she is gainfully employed, but she still gets her $50 from Mom. These days it goes mostly to the kiosks at Food & Wine Festival. At a very young age, she learned to spread it over the days of the trip once she ran out on Day 1 or 2 a couple of times. I got an excellent tip on these boards 20+ years ago. Buy several items at the dollar store, especially the light up ones and Disney related, and sneak them along. A surprise out of your purse/daybag is a great distraction.

 

[DisneyMom93]

Wow. Good question. Everyone’s budget is different, obviously.

Personally, I would do $100 each because everything at DW is pricey. And it would probably total a lot more if I just bought them souvenirs etc at the stores.

But I think a gift card is a great idea whatever the amount. It teaches them to really think about their purchases and to budget for what they want. Great life lesson regardless of the amount.

 

[Disfamily55]

We landed at $200 for each our 8 and 6 yr old. We will be there 8 nights/9 days. I added up what we spent the last two trips on their purchases and that seemed like a good fit. I plan to have it on gift cards with their names so I can track better. In the past one picked a princess doll so the other needed one but she had just got a shirt. Hope that helps!

 

[sam_gordon]

It can be anything from $25 to $200. Even the $25 will allow them to get a couple of smaller items or one "larger" item.

Really an individual call and would depend on how much you are willing to spend on them.

 

[MICKIMINI]

We established a budget after our first trip with our then 3 yo son. He saved all his birthday and Christmas money for his next trip and those after that. I think we gave him about $50 for the trip plus we bought him a tee shirt and hat (his choice). I remember him asking if it was to be "his money" or "our money" when he wanted to buy something! It ended the desire to buy something at every gift shop. At 13, he saved enough for a pair of Oakley sunglasses which he still has (he is almost 40). Most years, he bought a big Lego at DS and worked on it in our villa.

It was a great strategy and he learned early that saving his money was a better reward to get something special. I would say $150-200 minimum for a trip. I would also give the kids opportunities to earn a few bucks doing "extra" chores. Good lessons all the way around!

Enjoy!

 

[CarolynFH]

It was so many years ago that the $ amount is irrelevant, but to help DD budget we postponed purchases but made notes of everything she wanted, where it was, price, etc. Near the end of the trip we reviewed that list, and she deleted items she no longer wanted. Then we returned to the various locations and bought the things she did still want. It worked out great!

I remember him asking if it was to be "his money" or "our money" when he wanted to buy something!

LOL, our kids were the same! Items quickly lost appeal when they learned it would be “their money”!

 

[pooh2001]

See what they would like -
For my daughter we got her a charm bracelet and let her pick out 7 charms for it - Easy to pack to go home and she still wears it at age 25

For my son we let him pick out a lanyard - he picked out 7 pins for it - He has it hanging in his room at age 22

we stayed 10 days at WDW - 7 days each child got one charm and one pin
2 days of traveling - one pool /resort day = 7 days in the parks

We are nice parents - at 4 pm they both decided on what pin/charm they wanted - and we went back to get it at that park

Both are under $50 in today's prices - back then it was under $35

Both are easy to pack on the way home

 

[Rory607]

For four park days we would give each kid a $75-100 gift card. However, we always typically tell them we’ll buy them ears/hat and a t-shirt that doesn’t have to come out of their budget.

I have one kid who is good at spending money thoughtfully and one who will buy the first thing they catches their eye. He’s better now at 11, but between ages 5-9 I absolutely dreaded gift shops with him. He wanted everything and had a really hard time accepting that his money was gone when it was gone. If it was early in the day and we knew we would have time to come back later, I would take a picture of him with things he liked and maybe wanted. I have SO MANY pictures of him either crying or looking sad while holding toys. It’s become a family joke now 9 times out of 10 he didn’t want any of it by the end of our park time and had found something better.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

My kids each get a $200 gift card and when it’s gone it’s gone. We also buy them each 1-2 things with “our” money, like a pair of ears, a tee shirt or a toy. Things are super expensive at Disney and even $200 doesn’t go very far (as I constantly hear from my older kids lol). If they want extra trip money above the $200 we tell them we can give them a gift card as a present for their birthday or a holiday gift before the trip.

 

[Silvermist999]

What helped us with budgeting when the kids were younger was that they would get Disney gift cards for their bdays/Xmas from extended family. We would also give them some gift cards as well to use on the trip. If they run out and really want something that is rare, or only available at the parks, then I don’t mind buying it for them.